I was mesmerized reading Syita’s journey to Semarang and Lasem several months ago. Like her, I also appreciate cultures, especially when it comes to the Indonesian culture. Even though I didn’t get the chance to visit Lasem yet, I was lucky enough to be invited to Sariayu’s Trend Warna’s launch show on the last day of Indonesia Fashion Week 2013.

3,500 loyal fans and followers of Sariayu Martha Tilaar arrived early that day to attend the famous Sariayu Beauty Class.

Now, on to the main event. They showed us a video, introducing their newest collection from Sariayu Trend Warna 2013. They were inspired by the beauty of batik from Lasem and the colorful coral reefs found under the ocean of Karimunjawa. Suddenly, a group of dancers took over the stage, right after the video ended. These dancers wore kebaya and batik, and showed the audience the story of how Lasem was influenced by oriental cultures and architectures.

Commander Cheng Ho’s arrival in Semarang during the fifteenth century was the start of the assimilation between Chinese and Javanese culture, especially in Lasem. Na Li Ni, the wife of Cheng Ho’s captain, taught the local people of creating Chinese patterns such as the Hong bird, dragon, Chrysanthemum flowers, and the traditional color of China which is the color of chicken’s blood. This becomes the unique identity of Batik Lasem.

The story behind Lasem’s culture shown through the dance

The collection by Deden Siswanto showed the colors influenced by Lasem, which are mostly red, maroon, fuschia, and pink shades.

The beautiful underwater garden in Karimunjawa might be one of the reasons why people visit that place. Snorkeling is a favorite activity when you visit the place; enjoying the fun colors of the coral reefs, or seeing the dance movements by those funny clownfish is such an unforgettable experience.

A collection by Deden Siswanto showing the colors influenced by the underwater garden in Karimunjawa with bright colors such as green and yellow.

To close the event, Sariayu combines all their Lasem and Karimunjawa collections and creates the Sariayu Trend Warna 2013: Pesisir Sentrajava.

It was such an amazing experience to watch the mixture of different cultures in person. I even had goosebumps. The makeup, the dancing, the wardrobe collection, the music-such an inspiration. Sariayu Martha Tilaar succeeded in delivering it in a lovely way.